Dancing Classrooms of Greater Seattle Announced As the Winner of The National “QUICKSTEP FOR KINDNESS” Video Contest Celebrating Positive Impact of Ballroom Dance

Contest Culminates March 6-9th at the US National Amateur Dancesport Championships at BYU. Sponsors Include Dore Exquisite Gowns, Swarovski Elements, the Brigham Young University Ballroom Dance Program, Arthur Murray Dance Studios and DSI London

Dance is a tool for getting the children to break down social barriers, learn about honor and respect, treat others carefully, improve self-confidence, communicate and cooperate, and accept others even if they are different.

Provo, Utah (PRWEB) March 06, 2013

The Quickstep for Kindness judges panel is proud to announce that Pacific Ballroom’s “Dancing Classrooms Greater Seattle” program is the grand prize winner for the inaugural interactive video contest.

“We are absolutely delighted that Pacific Ballroom and their outstanding program Dancing Classrooms Greater Seattle have created the ability to touch thousands of students with the beauty and benefit that ballroom dance provides. We are encouraged that the winning prize package enables more young people the opportunity to continue dancing and offer the special gift of dance to others.” says Dore Designs CEO and head designer Dawn Smart.

Here is a brief description of the Dancing Classrooms Greater Seattle as described by Pacific Ballroom:

“Dancing Classrooms is not about teaching ballroom dancing. Dance is a tool for getting the children to break down social barriers, learn about honor and respect, treat others carefully, improve self-confidence, communicate and cooperate, and accept others even if they are different.

Dancing Classrooms is a 10 week, 20 session social development program for 5th and 8th grade children that utilizes ballroom dancing as a vehicle to change the lives of not only the children who participate in the program but also the lives of the teachers and parents who support these children.”

Besides being an opportunity to win a significant prize package for their high school or college team, the contest emphasizes how they are bringing about positive changes in their community with the use of their Ballroom Dancing talents. The grand prize for the contest includes a $10,000 travel sponsorship provided by Arthur Murray Dance Studios, fully paid entries to the U.S. National Amateur Dancesport Championships in Provo, UT provided by the BYU Ballroom Dance Program, a $3,000 additional travel fund provided by Swarovski and Dore Designs, Men’s costumes provided by DSI London and Women’s costuming provided by Dore Designs.

Quickstep for Kindness would also like to congratulate the three other finalists for their hard work and benevolence; Westlake High School Ballroom Dance Team of Saratoga Springs Utah, The MIT Ballroom Dance Team of Cambridge Massachusetts, and Erik Linder and Rickie Taylor, students at Centennial Middle School in Snohomish, Washington and Seaview Elementary in Edmonds, Washington, respectively (ballroom students at First Class Ballroom). These programs should be commended for their dedication to their respective communities and their willingness to go out and help others.

The exciting finalist videos included a wide array of heartwarming stories. Though the sponsors assembled a judges panel that had final discretion on choosing the winning team, social media “voting” such as “Likes” on the videos on YouTube and Facebook, and Twitter mentions, played an important role in determining the winner as well as furthering the vision of the contest: inspiring audiences across the U.S. and around the world.

Quickstep for Kindness was created to encourage under-funded ballroom programs in junior high schools, high school and universities to keep the tradition of Dancesport alive. An increasingly popular art form and sport, Ballroom Dance has been recently recognized as a potential Olympic competition by both the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee. The "Quickstep for Kindness" video contest wants to enhance this kind of recognition for ballroom dancing.

Dore Designs is an industry leader in the United States for Ballroom fashion. The company sponsors 42 professional and amateur couples in the United States and Canada. Dore Designs can be seen across the globe on world champions, finalists and dance novices. Dore Designs thrives in the French tradition of haute couture, in keeping each Dore Designs ballroom or evening wear gown an exclusive creation made to the wearer’s explicit measurements and carriage. The future success of Dore Designs will be expanded by couture and ready-to-wear lines for evening, as well as practice wear that can be customized for dance studios to brand themselves. For more on Dawn Smart and Dore Designs visit http://www.doredesigns.com and “like” them on Facebook to stay abreast of their latest designs: Facebook.com/DoreDesigns.